March 11, 2026
Designing Materials That Defy Heat Flow
Linking simple physical rules, machine learning and neutron spectroscopy to discover crystals with record-low thermal conductivity
News
July 28, 2025
JEFF4: a major step forward in nuclear data for science and applications
The Joint Evaluated Fission and Fusion (JEFF) Library combines and makes available the experimental and theoretical knowledge on nuclear data. Release JEFF-4.0 is a significant achievement for the community with major ILL contributions.
Feb. 21, 2025
Resistance is fragmented: how magnets defy disorder
Some magnetic materials feature peculiar states the fundamental understanding of which may pave the way for future applications. Neutron experiments have just revealed that they can be unexpectedly stable with respect to microscopic disorder.
Nov. 22, 2024
Spin Ice Age
How neutron studies of exotic materials can pave the way towards quantum computers
Nov. 27, 2023
Endofullerenes and carbon 60
Credit PCCP
Fullerenes are molecular cages made purely from carbon, the most well-known being C-60 which is a molecular sphere made of 60 carbon atoms. The Nobel prize for chemistry in 1996 was awarded to Richard Smalley, Harry Kroto and Robert Curl for their seren…
Feb. 14, 2023
The microscopic origin of ultra-low thermal conductivity in Indium Tellurium
Approximately 70% of all energy produced by humanity currently ends up as waste heat. As the world witnesses the accelerating and intensifying impact of climate change, the huge potential of this unused energy has come into sharp focus. Thermoelectric technologies enable a direct conversion of heat into electricity, their wider deployment, however, requires the development of more efficient mater…
July 7, 2021
Advanced neutron technologies galvanise research into advanced polymer electrolyte membranes
Schematic, cross-sectional view of a PEM fuel cell. Hydrogen fuel is channelled to the anode, while oxygen from air is channelled to the cathode. At the anode, hydrogen is split into protons (H+) and electrons (e-). The PEM allows the protons to cross to the cathode, while the electrons travel vi…